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Instead, for all your supernatural problems, pesky hauntings and brutal paranormal murders, phone Harry Dresden, the only wizard who's in the Yellow Pages.

The new Sci-Fi Channel original series The Dresden Files is based on the books by Jim Butcher, the ninth of which, White Knight, will be published this spring.

Starting Sunday on Space, it and Battlestar Galactica, also from the U.S. cable channel, will form a one-two punch of fantasy fun, airing back-to-back at 9 and 10 p.m.

British actor Paul Blackthorne (24, ER) plays trouble-magnet Harry, the wizard on retainer with the Chicago Police Department. Ardent fans of the Dresden books have been discussing the casting since it was announced. They've been weighing in on message boards with comments such as, "1. He looks too old for the part. 2. He does not have enough hair. Harry has a full head of hair. 3. His eyes are too beady. 4. He is not tall enough." And, on the opposite side of the argument: "He's 6'4". I'm happy."

Butcher, on the phone from Independence, Mo., is thrilled with the casting.

When we talk before Christmas he has only seen a rough version of the pilot.

"Instead of someone getting hit by a car, it says 'man gets hit by car'," he says.

"(However), it could have been so much worse . . . I love the look of the show and I especially love the lead actor, who does a really good job with Harry. I couldn't be any happier with that . . .

"They picked a guy who looks like Sean Connery did when he was doing Bond. There are worse things to have in a leading man," Butcher says. "Also, I'm a fan of House, so I had no issues with the idea of a British actor playing an American."

Saying that the casting could have been "much worse" indicates a bit of trepidation at handing over your baby.

"As far as handing it over, I'm not sure I've handed it over. They take the same idea and they're going to be doing their own separate stories. I regard the whole thing as an alternate Harry Dresden universe. They're using many of the same characters, using some of the same stories, but it's a different production medium," Butcher says.

"You can't tell the same story in a TV show that you can in a book. It doesn't cost me anything to destroy three or four city blocks of Chicago. For them that's a little bit more of a consideration."

Fans of the books should know that pretty much everything - from Harry's long coat to the hair colour of his Scully-like sidekick Murphy - has been changed.

What remains is the atmosphere of the books. What stands out is indeed Blackthorne, who, to me at least, looks pretty much the way he's supposed to. Kinda sexy, kinda goofy, occasionally dangerous.

On his website, Butcher solicits advice from his fans about which recurring characters they'd like to read more about."I'm writing for the fans, I'm writing for the audience, so I'm happy if they have an opinion, if it makes no nevermind to me which character I'll be using next for the story, I'm happy to give the fans more of what they want."

But he also has a clear path for the Harry of his novels."If I keep writing the way I am planning to keep writing," Butcher says, "I'm still going to have new books come out for years after the show has had its run.

"When I originally planned them out I had about 20 case books planned. And then I wanted to cap the series with an apocalyptic trilogy, because who doesn't love an apocalyptic trilogy?

"They're on a schedule. There's a beginning, a middle and an end to the series itself, and it's moving along pretty much the way I wanted to. It's moving along and it looks like I'm getting to finish it as I planned it."

Butcher, who shares the growing "urban fantasy" field with authors such as Laurel K. Hamilton, Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and Tanya Huff, credits the Harry Potter books and The Lord of the Rings movies with pushing his genre into the mainstream.

"We're seeing a lot more success in all kinds of science fiction and fantasy now, you see shows like Lost and Heroes, science fiction and fantasy that's showing up on prime time network. Like geeks have known for years, fantasy and science-fiction is cool."

But Butcher doesn't fear the possibility of great ratings as a threat to his own geek cred.

"I'm sure there will always be room for the nerds to be able to secure themselves a solid position in science fiction and fantasy. There's a difference between the people who says, 'yeah, I watch Heroes' and the ones who say, 'I met my wife at a Dungeons & Dragons game.'

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